Benchmarking energy performance for cooling in large commercial buildings.

Highlights • A multi-level building energy consumption benchmarking index system for cooling in large commercial buildings is presented. • The recommended index value is calculated based on real operation data of a commercial building in China. • Evaluation efficiency is improved by using a simplified calculation method. • The benchmarking method was validated using real data from eight large shopping centers in China. Abstract Urban development rapidly increases the total area and the energy consumption of large commercial buildings. Accordingly, the total energy consumption is the focus of numerous energy saving studies. An optimal benchmarking system provides a recommended energy consumption level for each building as well as identifying and prioritizing challenges to energy saving in each building. Based on detailed sub-metering system data and building operational data, this paper presents a simplified energy consumption benchmarking method for air-conditioning systems that cool large commercial buildings. Firstly, a multi-level benchmarking index system is established. Next, the energy performance data of eight large shopping centers in China validates the simplified benchmarking method and finally, the energy performance data of the participating shopping centers is analyzed under the present method. Our data focus on the energy saving potential, as well as informing improvement strategies for building energy performance, that can be used for efficient energy benchmarking process for cooling in large-scale commercial buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]